NEWS

How much do we love the art of Pope.L? Well, we don’t ordinarily present peoples Kickstarter projects but this one by Pope.L making a point about Flint, MI’s water fiasco is noteworthy and worthy of support. Thanks Artnews for the steer. Be sure to watch the video at the website.

Flint Water Project is an art installation, a performance and an intervention that calls attention to the water crisis in Flint, MI by bottling contaminated Flint tap water and selling it as a limited art edition in Detroit.

150 gallons of water will be purchased from Flint residents and transported to Detroit for bottling and packaging. Approximately 900 bottles will be produced in advance of the exhibition, with an additional 300 bottles reserved for on-site bottling performances during the opening and throughout the run of the show.

This fundraiser is closer to home and supports a young artist, Pat Maguire, who’s health is in peril…

The Happiest Hour: A Summer Benefit Party for Pat Maguire – FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 6:30PM
ICA may be closed for installation for the remainder of the month, but we invite you to join us in celebration this Friday night on the terrace. Beloved Philadelphia artist & ICA crew member Pat Maguire needs our help while he recuperates from his upcoming surgery. Let’s work together to raise money so that he doesn’t have to stress about his finances!

Please join us this Friday from 6:30 to 10PM on the terrace for a night of comedy and music in honor of Pat. Visit our website or RSVP on Facebookto view the full lineup for the evening’s celebrations as well as the many ways, large and small, to contribute to this effort.

In the displaced galleries category… Vox Populi is raising money for their future, which, we hope, will be a thriving one at a renewed and righteously in compliance 319 N. 11th St.

Following Vox’s temporary displacement from our 11th Street home, we are looking for support from our vibrant community during this transitional time. We’ll be celebrating the closing of our 13th Annual Juried Exhibition, and will be fundraising for our next steps. Expect plenty of free food, friends, and surprises as we get hot, weird, and loud in the parking lot behind our summer space.

The rate of development in Philly is staggering — and anxiety-inducing, if not seriously destabilizing, for many artists.

But we’re not NYC or DC yet. The Development Without Displacement campaign is working to get City Council to pass laws that would make developers pay more, and put more money into affordable housing citywide. They want City Council to pass these bills this year.

And we want to mobilize artists and creatives to help them get it done! We’re writing to invite you to an info session about Development Without Displacement for artists and art collectives on August 22.

DwDt is based out of veteran affordable housing organization WCRP with an advocacy committee led by low-income people of color. We are partnering with them for this information session so artists can learn more about their campaign, and begin to imagine ways that we could support their efforts.

Who: You and any artist friends that should be there
What: Development Without Displacement Info Session for Philly Artists
When: Tuesday, August 22nd, 6 – 8 PM
Where: Ulises Bookstore (31 E Columbia Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125)
Why: To learn more about the campaign, and share ideas about how artists can act collectively in favor of equitable development

Please call Lillian (317-417-0373) or Ricky (210-275-8422) with any questions in advance of the meeting. Look forward to seeing you there!

From the awesome Sarah McEneaney, activist artist and spearheader of the Rail Park project…

Sarah is a panelist at the 2017 Anne D’Harnoncourt symposium. Says Sarah, “I think it would be great if lots of artists attended the two panels (free) on Saturday! Full disclosure, I’m on one of them! We, too, think it would be great for lots of artists to turn out for the pertinent talk about the intersection of museums and the city.

OPPORTUNITIES

Cleveland, OH, site of the FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art

Here’s another Midwest story, this one from artist John Morris, based in Pittsburgh:

You might know, Northeast Ohio is planning the FRONT International Triennial of Contemporary Art next year, spread across museums and other venues from Cleveland to Akron. (ED. NOTE: Artistic Directors for FRONT are Artistic Directors Michelle Grabner and Jens Hoffmann, and FRONT debuts July 14, 2018)

I formed a (Facebook) group to discuss ideas for pop-up exhibits, public art, performances or other interventions during this event.

Please join if you are interested and bat around ideas, which could extend from a few small shows in rented spaces to a full, alternative event, spanning the region.

The Front International presents a great opportunity to raise the profile of the entire Pittsburgh to Northeast Ohio, art scene and create lasting collaborations between artists, curators and arts professionals in “fly over country.”

Have no $$ to fund this and no tangible ideas for funding beyond Kickstarter.
Positives seem to include a growing openness towards pop-up retail and events in cities like Akron and what seems to be a pretty open, creative attitude among Triennial organizers, in terms of spreading out exhibitions and involving communities.

Please join, pass it along to artists, curators, gallerists or others who might be interested. The region as lots of empty storefronts and potentially activated spaces to do stuff.

We will be opening a new building consisting of 50 artist studios called Jasper Studios. As part of our initiative to Build Artistic Community in Kensington we will be offering the Jasper Studios Artist Residency program. Starting October 1, 2017, Jasper Studios will be hosting two selected visual artists on a three month creative journey to create a body of work that will be exhibited in our studios. To apply just go to the Jasper Studios website: www.rentjasperstudios.com and submit your application. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2017 (soft deadline – still time to apply if you hurry) More details and apply online here. A few details we learned when speaking to Mary Ann:

Every three months they want to have two new artists in residence, providing two of their studios to host them.

At the end of each three month term, there will be an exhibit. Exhibition space will be in the lobby of Jasper Street Studios.

Lee and Amy (owners and founders of Printfresh) will select residents.

(Soft) Deadline for first round of residents is August 15. They will keep in consideration the artists who applied. They will post another open call in the near future.